Class Dismissed
by Maglen
Summary: Two children battle against madness, waiting for Alice in the hope that she can heal their twisted wonderland. R&R please.
1. I Waiting

Disclaimers: Any characters you recognise aren't mine. Or to make that clearer, Lewis and Feather are MINE!  
  
  
  
This chapter is dedicated to the art bunneh...yes you heard me! The ART BUNNEH!   
  
Class Dismissed-An Alice Fanfic.  
  
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Chapter 1: Waiting.  
  
  
  
They had been in the skool, thankfully. This place had always been sheltered from the rest of wonderland, even in those days when it's madness had been more cheerful.  
  
They'd watched as a sheet of flame washed over wonderland, tearing across the sky, raining down destruction upon the unsuspecting land. Even in this sheltered place they'd been flung back as their entire world warped and twisted before them, he'd looked up at the broken sky. A seething maelstrom, flowing, swirling hypnotically. With a great effort he'd torn his eyes away from the sky and glanced around at the other children. Not long afterwards the other children had all managed to break free from the hypnotic effect.  
  
In time they'd gotten used to it. Nothing much had changed inside the skool, or at least...that's how it appeared on the surface. In truth they were all aware of the dark shadow that hung over wonderland, and the tension would soon become unbearable, trapped within this haven become prison from the insanity of the rest of the world.   
  
Most of all, Lewis feared for his sister. Feather was a dreamer, for her the boundaries between fantasy and reality didn't apply.   
  
Once he'd loved her for it. Enjoyed listening to the strange stories she told, but now, with this dark cloud hanging over wonderland she was in danger of slipping into true madness.   
  
Still the skool remained untouched, sitting safely within the fortress of doors, only the twisting constantly changing sky hinting at the chaos outside. Some of the children grew restless. Assuring the others that the danger must have past they ventured outside. Promising to come back as soon as they'd found out what had happened.  
  
The others had all waited patiently, passing the time listening to Feather's ever more incredible stories, playing games or just lazing around.   
  
A few of the older children had now realised however, how the skool itself was slowly changing. The once bright and cheerful decoration had become drab and the patterns on the walls subtly disturbing.   
  
Not long after two of the children to have left the skool finally returned, he'd wished at once that they hadn't. They were wrecks, shells of their former selves, their clothes were torn and hanging loosely off their thin, skeletal frames. Worst was their eyes. Reflected in their eyes you could see the flames that had torn through wonderland, madness dancing in their eyes.   
  
The children had cared for them as best as they could manage, but the pair's crazed ramblings and appearance scared the hell out of everyone, even Feather could see their insanity and refused to go anywhere near them.   
  
The two children's health began to fail, he'd been watching over them both when one had grabbed his wrist, refusing to let go. She'd whispered just one word before slumping down, life having abandoned her body.   
  
'Alice.'  
  
The taint of wonderland had finally entered the children's refuge...purple smoke began rising from somewhere deep under the skool, freezing into glowing red crystals scattered all around it.   
  
  
  
Shaken by the death of their old friends many of the other children began to lose their grip on sanity. Completely by accident they'd discovered that the crystals could help clear their minds, and keep them sane.   
  
It was at that time that they'd received a visit from an old friend.   
  
They had been dismayed to see the state of the Cheshire Cat, but despite his sickly appearance the air of mischief about him still remained, although it was now accompanied with a faint sense of urgency. He had that same wide grin, but it now seemed a mask to cover his pain.  
  
"Meta-essence is the lifeblood of wonderland," he'd motioned to the crystals with a paw,   
  
"It may for now stop you from succumbing to madness but use it sparingly."  
  
The children had nodded, for the cat this was blunt and clear instruction indeed, this information was vitally important.  
  
The cat had turned his large yellow eyes upon Lewis.   
  
"You are one of the oldest here?"  
  
He'd nodded.  
  
"Do you remember meeting a little girl named Alice, a few years ago?"   
  
Taken aback by the cat's new straightforward approach he'd paused for a moment before nodding.   
  
"It is her who will save wonderland, or lead us all to destruction. She will be here soon. You will help her all you can."  
  
The cat had gasped suddenly, looking toward the entrance of the skool.  
  
"The queen's forces approach! Beware the red queen and the mad hatter! Both have fallen further than you could ever imagine, maybe even as far as Alice herself."  
  
With that the cat faded, leaving his everlasting grin behind for a few seconds.   
  
His last statement having caused utter panic Lewis had only been saved by Feather grabbing him by his sleeve.  
  
"Come on, we'll go to my secret place."  
  
  
  
Lewis sighed, it had been so long since that day, when the skool had fallen to the red queen.   
  
He was 15 now, or, at least, he thought he was. All sense of time had been lost, along with any other sense in this world. Remaining hidden within the skool had taken it's toll, but he'd somehow managed to retain some shred of sanity, and so, unlike the other children, his body had grown normally. The other children were now a sight that caused him intense grief. Their minds completely broken their bodies had followed, now the stunted, malformed things wandered all over wonderland.   
  
Lewis stopped dead, quickly ducking round the corner to avoid a card guard. As the mindless drone turned the corner he wrapped his arms around it's neck as tight as he could, rewarded with a snapping sound, he jumped back quickly, but not fast enough to avoid the dying guard's flailing. The guard's spear left a wicked gash in Lewis' arm, he gasped in pain but stayed as silent as he could. He couldn't afford to be discovered now. He grabbed his prize, a diamond shaped crystal, a purple gas sparkled inside it. He suppressed the urge to use it himself, and heal his wounded arm. There was someone whose need was greater than his own.   
  
  
  
He climbed up to Feather's 'Secret spot', their sanctuary ever since the queen had invaded.  
  
"Feather," He whispered softly.  
  
Feather looked up at him, taking a moment to focus.  
  
"Lewis?"  
  
He nodded, holding out the crystal of meta-essence.  
  
She looked at it in confusion for a moment, then took the proffered crystal and pressed it close to her heart, it flared brightly and disappeared.   
  
The spark of life returned to her eyes, she looked up at him clearly, noticed his arm and gave a cry of dismay.  
  
"Lewis! What happened?"  
  
He shook his head, it wasn't important.  
  
"You were almost gone. I had to risk it. I won't lose you!"  
  
She smiled softly at him.  
  
"Thank you. But....will YOU be okay?"  
  
"I'll be fine."   
  
Feather lay back, content with his answer.  
  
"Feather, I don't know if I can carry on fighting them like this..."  
  
She just smiled at him  
  
"Lewis, this is wonderland. As long as you imagine, and you believe....you can do anything."  
  
"If that was true you wouldn't be sitting up here all the time!" Lewis yelled. The realisation of what he'd said hit him, and he went red with shame.   
  
Feather gave him a hurt look, then turned to sit away from him so he couldn't see her crying.   
  
The day the queen had invaded she'd taken a spear to her leg, and hadn't been able to walk properly since. Lewis knew it was this one thing, more than anything else, that was driving her mad. She couldn't stand being stuck up here, forcing her brother to risk his life getting enough meta-essence for both of them, it was almost as if she was seeking escape in the madness, from this dreary reality.   
  
Lewis wrapped his arms round her protectively.  
  
"I'm sorry...."  
  
  
  
Lewis crept along the corridors of the skool, they'd both fallen asleep like that...it reminded him of happier times, but right now he was searching for meta-essence to heal himself.   
  
He rounded the corner without checking first and found himself face to face with a card guard.   
  
Unfortunately this wasn't just a spade guard, this card's uniform was emblazoned with the red diamond, and signified that this would be an altogether more difficult opponent to face.  
  
Lewis would have cursed under his breath if he knew any curses.  
  
"Bad timing." Lewis muttered, there was no way he could win already wounded like this.  
  
He had to run, not just for his own sake but for Feather. He spun around quickly, avoiding the guard's spear by pure chance and bolting down the corridor.  
  
Just as he was considering risking a look behind him a red blur sped past him, then another cut into his unwounded arm, he staggered and fell, the shock of the pain immobilising him.   
  
The guard stood over him, readying the spear to end this meeting. Lewis lashed out with his leg desperatly, knocking the spear from the guard's hands and unbalancing him at once.   
  
What happened next felt like it happened in slow motion , he managed to bully his tortured arms into grabbing the fallen spear, and slid along the wooden floor, placing the spear so that the card guard impaled himself on it as it fell. He pulled himself to his feet, though every limb burned and screamed in defiance at him.   
  
  
  
"Bravo."   
  
He looked up at the Cheshire Cat, how long had he been watching?  
  
"The means to fight back hard to come by. Don't waste your chance, seize opportunity with both hands!"  
  
Lewis' eyes widened, and spinning round he wrenched the spear from thje card guard mere moments before it disappeared. He also quickly took the meta-essence left by the fallen minion, holding it to his heart and breathing a sigh of relief as life rushed back into failing limbs.   
  
"What brings you back to this place cat?" He said, while working the stiffness out of his arms.   
  
"Have you forgotten Lewis?" The cat leaped down to land at his feet.   
  
"Alice has finally returned to wonderland. They tried to keep her out but now she's here."  
  
"She's a bit late." Lewis said bitterly.  
  
"If you want to survive I suggest you learn how to use that spear in your hands." The cat continued, ignoring him.   
  
"Now, listen closely," The cat glanced at Lewis from the corner of his eye, " Just swinging it about is all very well, but that spear can fire cards with sufficient skill, a fact you well know." The cat's smile grew wider.  
  
"Now, point the spear towards your target. Envision it in your mind. Now imagine the card. Imagine it bursting forth from your spear into the target."  
  
Lewis fixed his mind on a nearby window, tried to imagine the red card, burning, card, burning, b u r n i n g...  
  
"Lewis!" Lewis jumped, the Cheshire cat briefly had a worried look on his face, but quickly masked it again.  
  
"You have to be careful. Practice with the spear. Soon you won't have to think to use it's power."  
  
Lewis raised the spear again, determined to succeed. He'd show the cat.  
  
This time he fixed his mind on a grandfather clock, after a momet he was rewarded with a blazing red rectangle, striking the clock, which promptly burst into pieces.   
  
The cat nodded.   
  
"You learn fast. That is good. I will leave you to fend for yourself now, but if you feel that you need my guidence, and I'm not otherwise engaged, I will come to your aid."  
  
With that the cat faded from view and Lewis turned to go, he had wasted enough time, he had a sister to care for.   
  
  
  
Feather's eyes widened in wonder as Lewis told her about his fight with the diamond guard, and subsequent meeting with the Cheshire Cat.  
  
"I wish I could help you Lewis." she sighed, "Instead I'm stuck here being no use to anyone...so useless..."  
  
Lewis flung his arms round her again.  
  
"You're not useless Feather. I could never go on without you. You're my sister and I will always love you."   
  
He lay back, Feather now sleeping peacefully, all they could do now was wait for Alice.   
  
  
  
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It's come to my attention that this chapter ALREADY has a plot hole, in that the meta-essence has not healed Feather's leg for some strange reason. Why? Send your answers on the back of a postcard or alternativly just review. 


	2. II Enter Alice

Disclaimers: All recognisable characters are property of...um...someone who isn't me...  
  
Lewis and Feather are mine...MINE I TELL YOU! *cough* ahem....  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Emma for telling me that Feather was a proper name in Victorian times XD   
  
Thanks to my reviewers, I love you peeps.   
  
Kat23a, thanks for the heads up on the review thing O.o   
  
Arghhh now I'm under pressure...*crumbles into dust*   
  
Nautical Acronym, eh-heh, thing is I've only played the demo of the game, I'm waiting to get the real thing soon tho' which would be helpful before I attempt to go any further with writing o.O  
  
  
  
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Chapter 2: Enter Alice.  
  
  
  
Lewis found himself creeping along the corridors of the skool yet again, his fight with the diamond guard must have been observed, because ever since then the guards had begun moving around in threes, two spade guards commanded by a diamond guard. Although he was now armed with the spear he still hadn't mastered it's powers, and was hesitant to test them in a battle where losing would cost him his life. Although at least he would stand more chance than he had using his previous unreliable methods.   
  
  
  
Now that he was forced to avoid the guards he had to search much further out from his hiding spot than before, seeking the naturally occurring Meta-essence that appeared randomly throughout the skool.   
  
  
  
He rushed towards the library, hoping to take a short-cut through it. To his dismay as he opened the door he found himself about to run into a group of card guards.  
  
Lewis backed away, hoping to leave before they noticed him. Unfortunately one of the spade guards turned towards him at that very moment, and alerted his comrades.   
  
The diamond guard levelled his spear at his target, but Lewis had already darted to the left, aiming for the nearest spade guard. The guard parried Lewis' thrust and, turning it aside, delivered a kick to the boy's stomach. Lewis staggered back, gasping for air.   
  
  
  
"I'm...not...giving up...." Lewis tried to steady himself, but was forced to roll aside clumsily as the diamond guard fired the lethal cards from his spear.   
  
"If I could just do that I could finish this fight...that's it!"  
  
Lewis ran between one of the spade guards and the diamond, then stopped. The diamond turned towards him and smiled, then fired at him. Lewis dodged aside, the cards hitting the spade guard behind him.   
  
The guard looked down at the tear in his stomach, then toppled over slowly, the smouldering card still embedded there, eating away at his remains.   
  
The diamond looked in horror at the corpse of one of his own team-mates, so he never saw Lewis running behind him, only felt the spear's blade tear him into two. Lewis steadied himself and turned to face the remaining guard.   
  
The guard ran.  
  
Lewis watched the guard for a second then pointed the spear at him as he ran for the doorway.   
  
"I can't let you make it."   
  
He tried to envision the card in his mind...he already knew he couldn't do it in time.   
  
Lewis blinked, staring in confusion as the guard's head slowly slid off it's body.   
  
The guard slowly fell backwards, revealing a figure standing in the doorway.  
  
"Hello. I'm Alice."  
  
  
  
Lewis stared at the girl, her clothes matched those the Alice he remembered had worn, and she had the same long dark hair, but there the similarities ended.   
  
The girl's frame was almost as skeletal as the Cheshire Cat's, her dress not merely splattered but drenched with the blood of the guard she'd just slain, a vicious looking knife in her hand. Most striking however, was her vivid green eyes, which were far too wide, and seemed to glow from within, a stark contrast to her outward appearance, which seemed almost dead.  
  
  
  
". . . You're . . . Alice?"  
  
The girl nodded, and smiled at him, he relaxed slightly, there was warmth in that smile.  
  
"We've been waiting for you." Lewis said wretchedly, "But...there's only two of us who haven't..."  
  
"Gone mad?" Alice said softly.  
  
Lewis nodded, noticing as well that Alice's voice, surprisingly, still held a childlike innocence.  
  
Alice moved closer to him, staring into his eyes for a moment.  
  
"I don't see madness in your eyes." Alice said finally, Lewis sighed, and allowed himself to breathe again.   
  
"Cat!" Lewis jumped as Alice yelled the word. A moment later the Cheshire Cat appeared before them, looking, if possible, even worse for wear than he had last time Lewis had seen him.   
  
"You told them to wait for me?" Alice demanded.   
  
"Maybe." The cat stretched lazily.  
  
"If you hadn't told them to stay here!" Alice began.  
  
"They would all be dead or mad." The cat replied, "It was all that could be done to save two of them. We had no idea you would be prevented from returning to us for so long."  
  
Alice sighed and shook her head.  
  
"I'm sorry it took me so long to get here, now I'm here I hope I can help put things back how they should be."  
  
"Easily said Alice." The cat said, "Lewis I'm sure you're sister will be wondering where you are. Now if you'll both excuse me!" And with that last word the cat faded from sight.  
  
Lewis hastily gathered the meta-essence from the fallen guards, thankful that for once he'd gotten through an encounter without getting hurt.   
  
  
  
Alice and Lewis began making their way to where Feather lay, Alice wasn't bothering with stealth, instead running down every guard they saw. Lewis fought the urge to be sick, she delighted in tearing the guards apart, causing them as much pain as possible.   
  
He missed the Alice he remembered, where was that sweet little girl? She'd been like that in the library, but faced with the queen's minions she was like a demon. Lewis looked on as Alice continued her one-girl massacre, he hadn't needed to worry about meta-essence, it was flowing as freely as the blood.   
  
  
  
Alice finally stopped, her thirst for violence quenched.  
  
  
  
Lewis led her to the room where Feather was hidden, he motioned to a beam in the centre of the room, handholds and footholds notched into it so that you could climb up to the little alcove above.  
  
"I'll go up first so that Feather knows it's safe."  
  
Alice nodded.  
  
  
  
Lewis climbed up with the ease that came of long practice, gently shaking his sleeping sister.   
  
"Feather! It's Alice! Alice is here!"  
  
Feather looked up at him, a little fuzzily.  
  
"Evrythin's blurr...ed Lewis..."  
  
Lewis remembered why he'd been looking for meta-essence in the first place, and placed the crystal in Feather's outstretched hand just as Alice finished her climb.  
  
Her eyes widened in shock upon seeing Feather.  
  
Feather was less focused, an amiable, absent look on her face, compared to Alice's serious one. But she could still be looking at her twin. The resemblance was almost perfect.  
  
Alice could see that Lewis had noticed it too, now that he was seeing them both in the same place at once.   
  
  
  
Alice stared into Feather's eyes, as she had with Lewis, her incandescent green eyes met with Feather's soft, faraway gaze.   
  
"She's not mad...but, a dreamer right?" Alice turned to Lewis with a smile on her face.  
  
"I wish this was the strangest thing I've seen since I came to wonderland."  
  
  
  
Alice waited for Feather to drift off to sleep again before motioning to Lewis to join her.  
  
"We need to leave the skool soon," She said simply, "Unless I can reach the queen's castle Wonderland will never be returned to the way it was. And if you stay here sooner or later you and your sister will get found, and I know you don't want that to happen."  
  
Lewis started to protest, but sighed, he knew she was right.  
  
"Continue." He said eventually.  
  
"If we can find somewhere where Feather will be safe, would you help me?"   
  
"Huh? Well...of course, that's why we've been waiting here for so long."  
  
"You're sure you don't mind leaving your sister in someone-else's care?" Alice looked at him questioningly  
  
"I don't want to leave her...where could she go?"  
  
  
  
Alice sat in silence for a moment, just thinking. After a moment she opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again.  
  
"That's no good." He heard her mutter.  
  
"Aha! I've got it!"   
  
Lewis jumped back slightly.  
  
"Please, Alice...don't shout like that..."   
  
"Oh...sorry...Anyway. We can take Feather to the Village of the Doomed in Dementia."  
  
"Village of the...Doomed?" Lewis' eyes widened, "Are you sure that's a good idea? It doesn't sound..."  
  
"There's no need to worry," Alice said calmly, "Mayor Elder can take Feather to the place where he was hiding from the queen, and if he's been safe there all this time she will be too."   
  
"What about meta-essence? If she goes too long without it she'll go insane."   
  
"I don't think you'll have to worry about that...Mayor Elder is very old so he must be extremely clever."  
  
"Um...." Alice looked thoughtful again, " There is one problem though...I got here on Mayor Elder's balloon, but I don't know how we'd get back."  
  
  
  
"Dear me Alice," They both turned to find the Cheshire Cat lying next to them, "Have you forgotten where you are?"   
  
"...The skool?"   
  
"Well....yes.." The cat swished it's tail irritably, "But where is the skool?"  
  
"...in wonderland."  
  
"Your answers, my dear," The cat snarled, "Are either too big or too small. Try once more, where is the skool?"   
  
"The Fortress of Doors," Lewis interrupted, "I can't remember if it's always been that way, or just since the fire, but I think that's what the cat refers to."  
  
"The...fire?"  
  
"...yes...about ten years ago...a fire passed over all of wonderland. That's when everything changed."   
  
"Ten years?"   
  
"Yes, more or less ten years." Lewis noticed a strange edge to Alice's voice.   
  
"Anyway! As I was saying!," The cat growled at them, "All you need to do is find the right door."  
  
"And how long will that take?" Alice asked.  
  
"It all depends on where you start looking." The cat replied, "After all, if you picked the door that would take you to Dementia first it wouldn't take very long at all."  
  
"You're not going to tell us anything....are you?' Alice said to the cat.  
  
"I can tell you lots of things," The cat smiled, "They just might not be very useful, that's all."   
  
Alice turned back to face Lewis as the cat disappeared.  
  
"If we can find the right door, will you come with me?"  
  
Lewis paused for a moment, thinking about having to leave Feather on her own, and not see her for who knew how long, maybe never again. Then he thought about the way wonderland had been before the fire, and the chance to make it that way again.  
  
"Of course I will."  
  
Alice smiled happily, losing for a second the air of seriousness.  
  
"Thank..you..." Alice lay back against the wall and yawned, "We can talk more tomorrow, but right now we should sleep."  
  
  
  
Lewis was woken by Alice's frantic shaking.  
  
"What's going on?" He yawned and starting drifting back to sleep again.   
  
"There are card guards down there!" Alice yelled at him.  
  
He sat bolt upright, rushing to the alcove's edge and peering down.  
  
"How did they?!"  
  
"It was my fault..." Alice admitted, "they must have followed a trail of blood to this room."  
  
Lewis thought back to yesterday, and Alice's blood-soaked dress, leaving a dripping trail behind her as she walked.  
  
"Something's happening, they're getting into lines." Feather was also awake, and looking down at the assembled guards with no sign of worry whatsoever.   
  
"How can you be so calm?!" Lewis twitched slightly.   
  
"Wait...I want to know what they're doing too." Alice lay on her front and peered over the edge at the card guards, as Feather was doing.   
  
Lewis followed their example, but grabbed his spear from where he'd left it propped up before doing so.  
  
  
  
The card guards had lined up on either side of the doorway into the room, the spades lined up on one side, and the smaller numbers of the diamonds on the other. As the three children watched the guards all dropped onto one knee as the door opened and their leader walked into the room.   
  
  
  
Lewis and Alice exchanged shocked looks, Feather remaining totally oblivious.  
  
"It's a heart guard!" Alice whipped her knife out from wherever she'd been hiding it and began running her fingers along the edge of the blade in anticipation.   
  
Lewis sighed.  
  
"I should never have woken up this morning..." 


	3. III I Should have

Disclaimers, Feather and Lewis are still mine :P   
  
  
  
Dedication, I dedicate this chapter to...um...-_-? Aha! The reviewers! ^_-   
  
  
  
GhostOfYoda, I hope to make the Cheshire Cat's speech even less coherent as I continue...  
  
  
  
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Chapter 3: I should have...  
  
  
  
The heart guard motioned for his loyal men to rise, and looked up at the alcove, directly at the three children.  
  
  
  
"You there! I have an offer for you!" The guard motioned towards Lewis.  
  
"An...offer?"   
  
"Yes, an offer. Hand Alice over to us and we will forgive you for your crimes against the Queen of Hearts and let you live out your life undisturbed."  
  
Lewis looked thoughtful for a moment, and glanced at Alice.  
  
"Well? What is your answer?" The guard called up.  
  
"My answer? Here's my answer!" Lewis sent a card flying towards the guard, who jumped back, avoiding it easily.  
  
"Very well, we gave you your chance," Alice Liddell, Lewis ..., this room shall be your grave!"  
  
Alice jumped from the alcove, throwing her knife as she fell and felling one of the guards, as she landed she rolled aside, dodging the shower of cards aimed at her. As she finished her roll the knife reappeared in her hand with a burst of shimmering blue light, she ran forwards, ducking, weaving, jumping, slashing and stabbing as she went, heading inexorably for the heart guard.   
  
  
  
"Bring it out now!" The heart guard yelled to his underlings, who dragged a large black box into the room.  
  
Lewis stayed in the alcove, firing down on the guards as Alice cut through their ranks towards the heart guard.   
  
"Lewis....look!" Feather directed his attention to the box.  
  
"That's....that's...we buried the two who returned in there...."  
  
"Death is not always necessarily the end." The Cheshire Cat said from one of the beams above the room.   
  
"Wont you help us?!" Lewis yelled at the cat.  
  
"It would be madness to face the might of the red queen directly." the cat smiled and vanished.  
  
"Are you saying we're mad?!" Lewis shook his fist at the retreating cat.   
  
"Alice!" Lewis yelled, "Don't let them open that box!"  
  
Lewis shot one of the two guards attempting to remove the lock on the box with his spear, but was forced to take cover as a hail of cards from the heart guard came his way.   
  
Alice had reached the guard working at the box, and quickly sliced him in two. The guard's blood spilled onto the box, and sunk through the wood into the inside. The box began to shake violently.   
  
"Retreat!" The heart guard yelled as the lid flew open, two ragged shapes shooting out of it.  
  
"Boo-jum..." Feather breathed, "Vengeful spirits whose screams can tear flesh from bone."  
  
Lewis looked down at the chaos below, the guards had scattered, the Boo-jum swooping down and screaming at anything living. He watched as any card guards unfortunate enough to have not escaped were cut apart by the ghost's screams.   
  
One of the Boo-jum floated up to the alcove, staring at Lewis and Feather.   
  
It appeared to be a floating bundle of rags, two skeletal claws floating by it's side, and the skull of the long-dead children, yellowed by age and twisted with evil, fire burning in it's hollow eyes.   
  
The spirit turned to face Feather and op[ened it's mouth to launch a scream at the helpless girl. Lewis jumped in the way as the Boo-jum's scream tore through the air, the force of it caused him to drop onto one knee, thousands of tiny cuts covered his body.   
  
The creature screamed again, and again, Lewis struggling to stay standing, his clothes torn, blood flowing from the millions of little cuts.   
  
  
  
Below in the room Alice stood amongst the bloody remains of the card guards, trying to get a clear shot at the nimble spirit with her knife.   
  
As the ghost sped towards her again she saw her chance, she jumped, wedging the knife in the spirit's eye as it passed over her head.   
  
  
  
The ghost clawed at its eye, trying to remove the knife, but failed, it's head bursting into flames. It cluched at it's burning skull and let out a shriek of pain, shattering the nearby windows. Alice stared at it for a moment, watching as the Boo-jum's remains burned, b u r n i n g...  
  
Alice shook herself, looking up at the alcove where she could see the other Boo-jum launching scream after scream, it floated forwards, out of her view. Grabbing the knife from the pile of ash that had been the Boo-jum she began climbing up to the alcove.   
  
  
  
Lewis had collapsed, the Boo-jum's scream flinging his tortured body at the wall, he hit it and fell in a heap, twitching slightly. The Boo-jum closed in for the kill, hovering above it's prey triumphantly.   
  
Lewis looked up through the haze of blood, his fingers reaching for the broken spear. The Boo-jum swooped down to finish it. Lewis grabbed the creature's cloak and pulled as hard as he could, dragging the ghost to the floor, he slowly stood up and smashed his foot into the Boo-jum's fragile skull, then collapsed again, blood pouring from every wound.   
  
Alice rushed over to him, grabbing the meta-essence from the fallen spirit and pressing it against his heart.  
  
"Come on...don't give up now..."  
  
Feather dragged herself across the alcove to her brother and held him in her arms, her tears mingled with his blood.  
  
  
  
"He'll be okay....won't he Alice?" Feather looked up at Alice, not even daring to hope.  
  
"I..." Alice stopped, she couldn't lie to this girl, "I don't know...."  
  
Alice looked back down at the meta-essence scattered below, left by the guards that had fallen to the Boo-jum's scream.  
  
She climbed back down again, grabbing some for herself before she too collapsed, then made her way back up again.   
  
  
  
Lewis opened his eyes, his whole body was burning with pain, a million knives criss-crossing his skin, that's what it felt like. He looked up to see Feather and Alice straing at him anxiously.  
  
"Urgh...what..." Lewis started to rise, but they pressed him down again gently.  
  
"Rest."  
  
Feather suppressed the urge to hug him, should her touch cause him pain.   
  
"You saved me...brother I love you so much...will you get better soon?"   
  
"Even with the meta-essence, he'll be feeling pretty rough right now. He was in pretty bad shape, it hasn't finished it's job yet."  
  
Alice sat near the edge of the alcove with the knife in her hand.  
  
"I'm not getting caught by surprise again. I'll keep watch so that you two can rest. Okay?"   
  
Feather agreed, and Lewis was too tired to argue, so Alice sat there while they slept.   
  
  
  
Feather sat up and glanced towards Alice, she'd fallen asleep, dangerously close to the edge of the alcove. Feather managed to drag her lookalike further in, then sat gasping at the exertion for a while.   
  
"Cat." She whispered.   
  
The Cheshire Cat appeared next to her.  
  
"You called?"  
  
"brother said he'd have to leave soon, to go with Alice."  
  
"It's a fact I was already aware of." The cat yawned, "Is that all?"  
  
"Will....will brother leave me behind?" Feather's voice shook, she stared at the Cheshire Cat, a terrified look on her face.  
  
"Can you follow him?"   
  
"Hey...that's...you can't answer a question with another question..."  
  
"I can't?" The cat exclaimed in mock-surprise, "How did I do that just now then?"  
  
The cat paused for a moment.  
  
"One rarely takes the scenery with them when travelling."  
  
"Brother is...going to leave me behind, isn't he cat?" Feather said, tears framing her eyes.   
  
The cat stayed silent, looking at Feather's crying with contempt.  
  
"Is there anything left in that head of yours apart from fluff?" The cat snapped, "All you have to do is get up and follow him."  
  
"B-but...I...c-caan't!" Feather cried, "I can't walk properly..."  
  
"It's not very nice of you to keep him here." The cat said lazily.   
  
"W-what?"  
  
"Oh you thought I wouldn't notice? Your mind has rejected the meta-essence's healing powers, in some insane belief that it will keep him here."  
  
"But...but this is our home!" Feather wept, "We can't leave....we can't...I wont let brother be hurt. She can go away and everything will be alright again and we can stay here together forever."  
  
"Brother, why are you being so mean to me?" Feather hugged a ragged little doll to her chest, reminding the Cheshire Cat of Alice and her one-eyed rabbit.  
  
"Their age counts for nothing, they're all children inside." The cat said to no-one in particular, then faded away, leaving Feather to cry herself back to sleep.   
  
  
  
Alice gave a start and woke, berating herself for falling asleep, then looking around. Luckily the other two were still asleep, Lewis had to be able to trust her and that wouldn't have been a good start.  
  
She jumped as several grapples flew up and lodged into the floor of the alcove, looking down she saw the remaining card guard forces climbing up.   
  
She shook Lewis lightly, in case his wounds hadn't healed properly yet. He groaned and sat up, rubbing at his eyes.  
  
"Now what?"  
  
"They're back! They've got ropes and they're climbing up!"  
  
"It's too early for this..." Lewis grumbled and grabbed the reamins of his spear as Alice went to wake up Feather.   
  
Lewis looked down at the approaching guards, then with one simple movement severed the rope they were climbing up, moving onto the next one and doing the same, the guards on the other ropes began climbing back down again as fast as they could as he cut them too.   
  
As he did this the guards climbing up the beam had reached the top, and he turned to face the first of them. He swung his spear at Lewis, he managed to block the blow but his spear snapped in two under the force, leaving him weaponless. He jumped back to avoid a swing from the guard's spear and joined Alice at the back of the Alcove. As they watched new grapples were flung onto the edges and the guards re-commenced their climb.  
  
Alice slowly pulled a pack of cards from her pocket.   
  
"Too many for the knife now..."  
  
She pulled the top five cards from the pack and threw them, they turned in mid-air, slashing through the nearest guard and severing his limbs. Lewis quickly ran forwards and grabbed the spear, swinging upwards and decapiting another guard as he did so.   
  
"Hold it right there." Lewis stopped in his tracks and turned around to see the heart guard, by some impossibility behind him and Alice, holding his spear against Feather's neck. A strange creature dropped down from the celing, looking like the face of a china doll on legs.   
  
"This is my nightmare spider." The guard said lazily, "In case you were wondering how I got here."   
  
The spider bound Feather with a thinck black web and the heart guard placed her on it's back.  
  
"We're taking Feather with us now. Queen's orders. Pull back men, the queen has other plans for these two." The card guards retreated back down the ropes and left the room, so that only Lewis, Alice and the heart guard were present, the spider having scuttled off somewhere in the rafters, taking Feather with it.   
  
"We'll let you leave the skool freely, but if the thought of raising as much as a finger against us should cross your mind. Remember, we have your sister."   
  
Lewis sat and clluched at his head.  
  
"What...what have I done?" He trembled, "I should've..."  
  
"It's not your fault!" Alice knelt down by him and put her hand on his shoulder, she glared at the guard.  
  
"Do you have a name guard?" Alice said suddenly.  
  
"Me?" The guard seemed taken aback, "Why?"   
  
"I can't curse your name if I don't know it."   
  
The guard laughed.  
  
"You are, as the queen said, quite mad, Alice Liddell. You can call me Niar."   
  
"Curse you, Niar of Hearts."   
  
Alice sat by Lewis' side and wrapped her arms round the sobbing boy, directing a glare at the guard.  
  
"Leave us...now!"  
  
"As you wish, Alice." Niar gave a mocking bow and the nightmare spider dropped down again, he climbed on and disappeared into the rafters.  
  
"Don't worry Lewis...we'll get her back. I promise."  
  
--- --- ---  
  
Hmmm....I wonder if Niar would count as my own character? He is only a card guard thjough so he'll look like all the others ...  
  
Damn, trust me to give cannon fodder a name O.o 


	4. IV The Second Fallen

Disclaimers: Feather and Lewis are mine, Niar is...let's say no to be on the safe side...XD  
  
  
  
This chapter is dedicated to GhostOfYoda, the cliffhanger fetishist :P  
  
  
  
I'm not very happy with this chapter, but I just HAD to end it with that line.   
  
--- --- ---  
  
  
  
Chapter 4: The Second Fallen  
  
  
  
Alice watched Lewis from a discreet distance. He'd just been sitting in the same spot he'd fallen for the last three days, and she began to worry that he would end up like the other children. At the end of the third day she couldn't stand it any longer, he was the only sane person she'd met since arriving in wonderland. She needed him, she couldn't face this alone or she was sure she'd lose her mind too.   
  
"Lewis! Come on! We're not going to get your sister back by just sitting here!"  
  
He looked up at her slowly, his eyes clouded, a spark flickered somewhere deep inside them, the beginnings of madness, seeking to claim him, poison him.  
  
She looked at him sadly, if they didn't leave here soon, it'd be too late.   
  
"Lewis! Please?! Don't....don't leave me here by myself!"  
  
"..Alllice?"  
  
Alice nodded, placing a meta-essence crystal in his hand.  
  
"I can't save you..." Alice said quietly, "You have to save yourself."  
  
Lewis slowly pressed the meta-essence to his heart.  
  
He blinked and looked up at Alice, dragging himself slowly to his feet.  
  
"Lewis...are you okay?"  
  
"No."   
  
"I don't want to remember...losing her....It hurts."  
  
  
  
Alice moved to slap him for a second, then stopped.  
  
"I...I know how it feels, but we have to keep going....I spent too long trying to escape the pain, and wonderland suffered. If you stay here and try to forget she'll suffer too. You don't really want to forget her do you?"  
  
Lewis turned his back on her, she wasn't going to see him cry.  
  
"Of course not...but...it hurts so much....I can't..."  
  
"Don't worry, like I said, I know how it feels. And I promised we'd get her back. Remember?"  
  
Lewis nodded silently.  
  
"Then lets go and get her back. Okay?"   
  
"O-Okay...."  
  
  
  
Niar stood before the gates of the Mad Hatter's domain. He wasn't easily intimidated but this definitly qualified as a disturbing sight. He looked aound at the blasted landscape, the earth blackened with soot, gears and strange machinery rising from angry red gashes in the ground. Strange mechanical figure's roamed freely.   
  
One bid him enter the Hatter's house, he followed it in, the nightmare spider following, carrying Feather with it as the machine, a mockery of humanity, led him to the Hatter.  
  
  
  
Lewis looked around, where-ever they were it was vastly different from anything he had seen before, looking up he noticed that the sky here was a haze of greyish mist, quite unlike the swiring madness that had hung above the skool.  
  
Alice seemed to have some idea where they were, she was kneeling down by a pool of water, dipped her finger in and tasted it, then mumbled something to herself and nodded.  
  
"I've been here before." She said, "A long, long time ago. I was here and I grew to a giant size and...I...started to cry..."   
  
Lewis couldn't imagine Alice crying, he tasted the water, and spat it out again quickly.  
  
"It's salty."  
  
"It's my tears..."   
  
Lewis looked around at the drab, dreary landscape, the ground and sky a dull grey, pools and streams of water all over the place.  
  
"Welcome to the Vale of Tears Alice." The Cheshire Cat appeared before them, "We'll be waiting for you Alice." The cat began to fade again, but Alice took a couple of steps forward and called for him to stop.  
  
"Wait! What am I supposed to do in this place?"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough."  
  
The cat disappeared from view again.   
  
Alice walked over to the edge of one of the pools and sat, looking at herself reflected in the unbroken waters. She was about to get up again, her appearence was causing her some distress, when she noiced something behind her reflection, she turned around and looked up.  
  
"What is that?!"  
  
Lewis pointed his spear at the creature and fired. His aim was off, and he hit the large object the creature was holding. It exploded, the creature's shattered carcass hitting the ground, still burning.  
  
"Well....it, was, a ladybird...."  
  
She glanced at Lewis, he wasn't listning to her. He was staring at the ladybird's corpse, burning. She turned away, refusing to look at it. She didn't need reminding, she was reminded every night in her dreams for the past ten years.   
  
She walked up to lewis and shook him slightly, he jumped.   
  
"Eh...what is it?" He looked around, "Are we being attacked again?"   
  
"Calm down Lewis." Alice shook her head, "What were you doing?"  
  
"Nothing, just, thinking...."  
  
Alice left it at that, she knew that she wouldnt want to talk about, whatever it was, if she were in his place.   
  
"Do you hear....A buzzing sound?"   
  
"Probably more ladybirds." Alice pulled the pack of cards out of her dress pocket again.  
  
"These should do the trick."  
  
  
  
They split up as the ladybirds drew near, the first few insects were unsure of which person to attack, and payed for their indecision with their lives.   
  
The ladybirds had proven to be slow and cumbersome fliers with their explosive cargo slowing them down.  
  
Just as the two children were about to leave, the aeriel menace disposed of, they saw three strangly shaped figures coming towards them.  
  
"Now what?" Lewis sighed and raised his spear once more.  
  
Alice strained to see throgh the mist.  
  
"Ah, now we have giant ants....Great. Just great. What next?"   
  
Alice put the cards away and pulled the knife from out of her other pocket.   
  
  
  
The three ants rushed forwards, swinging at Alice with their Bayonets, she dodged them easily, stabbing the blade into the side of teh closest ant right up to the hilt, then hurriedly yanking it away as acidic green blood gushed out of the wound, drenching the second ant, neatly disposing of two of them at once. Lewis rushed forwards and shot the last ant in the head, the creature taking a couple of faltering steps forwards before collapsing.   
  
  
  
"Now what?" Lewis said, looking around, We're in the middle of a huge grey marsh and everything looks the same. Which way do we go?"  
  
Alice stood and thought for a moment.  
  
"This way." She pointed to her left and set off.  
  
"What makes you say that?"  
  
"It's just a....feeling..."   
  
  
  
--- --- ---   
  
  
  
Niar stood before the Hatter, one of the two most powerful people in Wonderland. The room was adorned with thousands of clocks, all ticking in perfect unison. After a minute or so it began to cause him some irritation. Niar ignored it as best he could, not wishing to offend the unpredictable hatter.   
  
"A gift you say? From the Queen of Hearts, no less?"  
  
Niar nodded.  
  
"That is correct."   
  
He looked at the hatter, his face mis-shapen, his body was more machine than man now, cogs and gears whirring as he moved.   
  
The hatter walked over to Feather's bound form and, tilting her head upwards, stared at her face for a moment.  
  
"Just like Alice...yes....She is quite perfect...."  
  
The Hatter motioned for Niar to follow him.  
  
"I have something to show you guard."  
  
The Hatter led Niar up a spiralling staircase, the steps appeared from the walls as they walked up, slotting into place in perfect time with the Hatter's footsteps.  
  
They reached the top, in some sort of tower.  
  
"Just look at that guard, look down. What do you see?"  
  
Niar looked down and gasped. He was looking down at a giant clock carved into the landscape, the fiery numbers were the seemingly random scars in the landscape he'd seen before. He should have known that everything the Hatter did was perfectly planned out, nothing within the Hatter's domain happened by chance, he would always be there pulling the strings from the shadows.   
  
"Perfection, guard, perfection. you can rely on machines, yes."  
  
Niar hastily nodded in affirmation.  
  
"Most impressive sir."  
  
Niar paused for a moment, he knew he was forgetting something, oh yes....  
  
"Sir Hatter...the queen has also instructed me to give you this letter." Niar held out a red envelope, adorned with the intricate seal of the Queen of Hearts.   
  
The hatter took the envelope and carefully placed it in his pocket.  
  
"Thank you guard, you may leave now."  
  
Niar bowed.   
  
"Of course sir."  
  
  
  
The Hatter turned back to Feather and snapped his fingers, the walls opened up, revealing rows upon rows of surgical impliments and even more arcane instruments.  
  
"Now my dear, let's see what makes you tick." 


	5. V Pyrophobia

Disclaimer: Yes Feather and Lewis are STILL mine! XD   
  
This chapter is dedicated to ignorance! Muahahahahaha1 God I need to buy this game I have NO clue what I'm writing ;_;  
  
Kat23a: ^_^ Aw thanks for your review, The game'd be easy to get if I wasn't after the mac version *runs away from angry Windows users* ;_; The hatter scares me…. *twitches* It's that 'Business Unfinished' fic….I love it but ish so scary….  
  
And so, with my random pluggage of someone else's fic accomplished….^_-  
  
^_^;;; I got the wrong suit of cards?! Argh NOOOOOO! I'm always saying 'Spades' when I mean 'Clubs'…XD As you'd imagine I suck at card games….thanks for pointing it out.  
  
--- --- ---  
  
Chapter 5: Pyrophobia   
  
Lewis was waiting for Alice to come back. She was investigating the shattered remains of a house, it had probably been attacked by the ladybirds. They'd come across more of the simple, grey mud huts earlier on, and after seeing what was inside them, he was glad Alice had decided she should go to look by herself.   
  
Alice walked back out of the ruined hut through a large gap in the wall, and walked up to him, shaking her head.  
  
"The same as the other ones."  
  
"No survivors.…"  
  
"There has to be someone somewhere....they couldn't have gotten them all."  
  
"Alice! Look!"  
  
Lewis rushed over to another ruined hut and started pulling at a section at the wall, Alice followed and saw why, saw the mouse trapped under the rubble.  
  
They managed to lift it just enough for the rodent to roll aside, then dropped it again, exhausted.  
  
The mouse dusted itself off and bowed to the two children.  
  
"I thank you both. Please, follow me."   
  
exchanging confused glances the two children did as they were told, following the mouse to a hole hidden among a clump of grass to one side of the wrecked huts.  
  
They were led down some stairs to a thick wooden doorway, the mouse produced a key from somewhere about it's person and opened it, bidding the children to enter, they all walked in and the mouse, shutting the door behind them, lit a lamp, using it to light torches lining the walls.   
  
They were in a fairly large room, at least twice the size of one of the huts. A large wooden table dominated the centre of the room and the walls were lined with shelves, filled with fruits, berries, seeds and vegetables.   
  
Alice dismissed this detail as unimportant and turned her attention to the mouse, Lewis however, was much more interested in the food, barely stopping himself from rushing for it.  
  
"Your friend seems quite starved Alice." The mouse noted, nodding towards Lewis.  
  
"How...do you know my…" Alice stopped, "A stupid question right?"  
  
"Only had you finished it." The mouse smiled.  
  
"Help yourself." The mouse called over his shoulder to Lewis, who was happy to do so.   
  
"Lewis?" Alice stared at her friend in surprise.  
  
"Al...rmph...ice…" Lewis hastily swallowed whatever it was he'd been eating, "I haven't eaten in over 10 years."  
  
"That's impossible!" Alice exclaimed, "You'd have died of starvation long ago if that was true!"  
  
"Not quite dear," The mouse shook it's head, "It's quite feasible to live off meta-essence, you'll just wish you didn't. It'll keep you alive, but it doesn't ward off hunger, that vile little gnawing sensation in your stomach. There are stockpiles like this all through the Vale, in case of attack."  
  
Alice nodded slowly.  
  
"Little mouse, I do not believe I know your name."  
  
"Oh dear, how rude of me...I am Linswe."   
  
"I believe you already know my name Linswe, this is my friend Lewis."  
  
Lewis merely waved, his mouth still full.   
  
"Why were all the huts attacked?" Alice asked.  
  
"Well, we were told to keep something hidden here for you Alice…" The mouse began sadly, "But s-somehow the queen found out and sent her....sent her ladybirds to destroy all the villages looking for it."  
  
Alice found herself hugging the little mouse as it started to cry.  
  
"And...and," Linswe sobbed, "We've got it here for you Alice just like we promised....but...they're all gone...because of you!"   
  
The young mouse leaped back and pulled out from behind one of the shelves what looked like a croquet mallet made from the corpse of a flamingo. A blue flamingo. Alice had no time to think about the colour of flamingos though, as the crazed rodent swung the bizarre weapon at Alice's head.   
  
She only narrowly avoided the attack. The mouse was a poor fighter, but Alice hadn't been expecting it. She wondered where Lewis was, surely he must have noticed what was happening, first meal in ten years or no.  
  
She gave herself a second to glance in his direction, pulling the knife from her pocket as she did so. She saw him lying unconscious at the table.  
  
"What happened to?!"  
  
Linswe glanced at Lewis too, she seemed surprised.  
  
"He must've been eating too fast and choked on something…"  
  
Alice swung the knife at the mouse but she dodged aside, swinging the mallet again, leaving a trail of sparks behind it, hinting that should she be hit the weapon was more deadly than it appeared. Alice dived under the table, sliding out on the other side, happy to have the obstacle between her and the electrically charged flamingo. Linswe jumped onto the top of the table and produced a rolled-up hedgehog out of nowhere. Before Alice could question the absurdity of this it was hurtling towards her, she dived again and the ball missed, but it hit the wall and bounced back off it, hitting her in the back as she was beginning to pick herself up.   
  
She fell again, the shock running through skin and bone, she lay there twitching, her body refusing to move as her mind screamed at it.  
  
"They're all dead...because...because of you…" Linswe stood over Alice, the mallet raised to strike her vulnerable back, smash her spine and end her life.   
  
Blood splattered her face, she blinked and stared at the mallet, lying on the floor next to her, blood running down it, one of Linswe's arms still gripping the weapon tightly.   
  
Her body slowly recovering from the shock she managed to look up and see Linswe staring in disbelief at Lewis, his spear having severed the mouse's arm at the elbow, blood fountained from the wound, and the mouse screamed in agony.   
  
He swung the blunt end of the spear into Linswe's face and the mouse crumpled, unconscious.   
  
He helped Alice to her feet.   
  
"Sorry, I don't know what happened, I just blacked out. I guess my body couldn't handle so much food after so long…."  
  
Lewis stared at the mallet, lying in a pool of blood, he shook his head sadly.   
  
He slung the mouse over his shoulder and carried her outside to one of the many pools, washing her bloodstained fur. As Alice came out of the hidden room, the mallet in her hands, she saw Lewis tear a strip of his jacket off and tie it round the mouse's wound, stemming the flow of blood.   
  
Linswe's eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head weakly, looking around.  
  
"I'm…You…saved me?"  
  
Lewis nodded.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because you're only a child. Because you had to see everyone around you die. Because it wasn't your fault…" He held the little creature in his arms and buried his head in her fur.  
  
"…And because I hurt you. I'm sorry…."  
  
Alice took a deep breath and walked up to Linswe, holding the now cleaned mallet in her hands.  
  
"Linswe….I'd…I'd like you to keep this."  
  
She held the mallet out to the little mouse, who gasped.  
  
"But…it's…for you…that's why we kept it…"  
  
"No, I can't take it…not now…" Alice shook her head, "You keep it. Be safe."  
  
Linswe took the mallet with her one arm and clutched it to her.  
  
"I'm going to go….I know there'll be others hiding in stockrooms like mine…"  
  
The mouse hugged Alice again.  
  
"I'm so s-sorry for what I did Alice…Thank you…Thank you!"  
  
The little mouse waved and scurried off into the mist, Lewis stood up from the edge of the pool and joined Alice.  
  
"Do you think she'll be okay on her own?" Lewis asked Alice.  
  
"With her arm wounded like that?" Alice paused, having noted the concern in his voice, "I…I don't know…"  
  
"We'll camp here tonight." Alice said, stopping suddenly.  
  
"Night?" Lewis looked up at the grey sky, it looked the same to him as it had before, but then again, the sky over the skool had always looked the same too. And after walking, not to mention wading, across the vale for so long Lewis wasn't inclined to argue.   
  
He sat down on a log, catching his breath. Alice collected a pile of sticks and motioned for him to use the spear on them, he fired a card into their midst and the twigs burst into flames.  
  
Lewis turned aside slightly, so that his weary body was warmed by the flames, but so that he didn't have to look at them. He noticed Alice doing the same, and wondered what her reason was. His own was simple enough, he had always linked Wonderland's decay to the fire that had swept through it ten years ago. Now that he thought about it Alice had acted oddly when he'd mentioned both the fire and the fact that it occurred ten years ago, could there be some kind of connection?  
  
He thought about meeting Alice back when she had been a curious and imaginative seven year old. It seemed so long ago now, before Wonderland's corruption. He vaguely remembered how she had passed through the skool briefly, following the White Rabbit. The children had still convinced her to stay awhile and she had taught them how to play hopscotch…Lewis smiled at that. He looked at Alice for awhile, he wondered if she remembered, or if that memory didn't mean as much to her.   
  
Alice sat, avoiding looking at the flames, or Lewis, her mind wandering, inevitably leading to the one thing she didn't want to see. A memory that despite the best efforts of a series of doctors, not to mention Alice herself, she had never been able to forget. The harder she tried to lock it away, the more it plagued her. That night was stuck in her mind as clearly as the day it had happened, ten years ago…  
  
Flames licking her heels, rushing to her parents room, just in time to see them burning. Their last words to her screams of agony, begging her to save herself. She remembered not how she had gotten out, only lying in the snow outside, letting the cold ease the burns that covered her body. Lying there half dead, clutching her little stuffed rabbit to her chest.   
  
She had woken the previous day in the hospital, and had cried every waking second for her parents, knowing it was too late.   
  
Everything afterwards became a blur, the doctors feeding her so many chemicals that she barely knew the ceiling from the floor, but still she couldn't escape that memory, every night haunted by her parent's screams and the never ending flames.   
  
"Alice?"  
  
Alice jumped and spun around, knife in hand.   
  
"Alice? What's wrong?"  
  
She slowly lowered the knife as Lewis wrapped his arms around her.  
  
"What…are you doing Lewis?"  
  
Lewis pulled back, embarrassed.  
  
"Sorry, it always calmed Feather down when she was upset…and…" He trailed off.   
  
"We'll get her back….Um…Lewis?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Does the fire bother you?"  
  
"It's…the fire that made everything go wrong. Made wonderland go wrong."  
  
They sat in silence for awhile as Alice thought about this, finally, she spoke up again.  
  
"Ten years ago…my house was destroyed by a fire…my parents were killed by fire….Everything I'd ever known was taken away from me in the space of one night…by that fire…my life ended that night….it left something dead inside me…."  
  
Alice stared at the floor, tears running down her cheeks as she spoke.   
  
Lewis hugged her again. She didn't stop him this time, he held her in his arms until she cried herself to sleep.  
  
Lewis was sitting keeping watch as Alice slept.   
  
"Cat." He whispered.   
  
"Yes?" The Cheshire Cat appeared by Lewis' side, warming itself by the remains of the fire.  
  
"This can't be coincidence cat," Lewis stated flatly, "Ten years ago a fire tainted Wonderland with madness. Ten years ago a fire claimed Alice's parents and destroyed her life."  
  
"It is often the case," The cat said softly, "That those who say they are mad crave attention, while those who are truly mad will try their hardest to deny it."  
  
Lewis stared at the cat, the cat maintained it's grin, but it seemed strained.  
  
"You know the truth cat. Don't try to hide it behind riddles. What is the connection between these two events?"  
  
"The connection is in your mind only." The cat replied, a menacing undertone in it's voice.  
  
"Cat. If Alice can return Wonderland to the way it was, will she go back to being the way she was too?"   
  
The cat could hear the desperation in Lewis' voice, he wanted the Alice he remembered.   
  
"You may as well ask, if Alice were healed would Wonderland go back to normal too."  
  
"So there is a link. Cat….What happens to Wonderland if Alice dies?"  
  
The cat seemed to think about this question for a moment.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe Wonderland would die with her and just….disappear."  
  
On the word 'disappear' the cat vanished, leaving Lewis to think about what it had said.  
  
--- --- ---  
  
NOTE: Linswe is also my own character, but was missing from the disclaimer as it's like holding up a sign saying 'New character appears in this chapter!' 


	6. VI Soldier Servent Slave

Disclaimer: Lewis, Feather, Linswe and some other lil' thingies you don't recognise are mine :P  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Emma [again] for helping write it :P  
  
Alice - Elizabeth: .; Well...it's funny you should say that....  
  
Kat23a: Thanks for offering to help and sorry for the long delay O.o  
  
--- --- ---  
  
Chapter 6:soldier...servent...slave...  
  
"Hey...Alice. Do you see that?"  
"See what?"   
"I...saw something moving in that pool over there...."  
Lewis walked closer to the edge of the pool, peering down at the bubbles rising from the surface.  
"Lewis! Get back!"  
"Huh?"  
Something shot out of the water, wrapping itself around Lewis' leg and pulling him under.  
"Lewis?!"  
Alive ran to the edge and peered into the water, She could just about see a small, blue, fish-like creature. She noticed more of them swimming towards them, attracted by Lewis' thrashing about. Alice was forced to jump aside as the creatures jumped out of the water, spitting a ball of green venom at her.   
  
Alice pulled the knife from her dress and watched cautiously. Some of the fish-like creatures were now frequently leaping out of the water to try and hit her, while a few were closing in on Lewis.   
Alice pulled five cards from her deck and threw them into the water, hoping that she'd manage to scare the fish-like things away. They darted away as the cards cut through the water. One hit it's target and the pool turned red with blood. Even though the creatures had stopped their attack Lewis still wasn't moving, he was sinking slowly deeper, unmoving.  
"Dammit!" Alice swore and jumped into the water after him, she opened her eyes, the water was clear and she could see, after a fashion. Certainly enough to see the creatures approaching again. She could see them clearly now, fish with the legs of a frog, she twisted round in the water and smiled as her knife tore through the first of them. These things were no threat.   
"I may be forced to change my opinion..." She thought as one lashed out with it's tongue and pulled the knife from her grip.   
She concentrated, willing the knife back into her hand. In a flash of blue light it was there, she looked around and saw Lewis' sinking further downwards, his thrashing reduced to mere twitching. She swam downwards to him, putting the knife away and firing cards back up at the decending creatures. Annoying though they were she had to get him out of the water before he died.   
Grabbing Lewis she swam upwards as hard as she could, slowed by his weight.   
  
She burst out of the pool, gasping for air, her lungs burning, her head swimming, she still somehow managed to reach dry land again. She lay down, soaking, tired and covered in tiny scratches from the creature's claws and teeth. She glanced at Lewis. He lay still, his skin a dangerously pale colour.  
She quickly knelt over him and pressed her head to his chest, the heartbeat was faint, and getting fainter. She glanced back at the pool and swore again. The meta-essence had sunk into the water, far too deep for her to retrieve it, and there was nothing else nearby.   
  
Reluctantly she leant over him, taking a deep breath, forcing air back into his lungs.   
  
--- --- ---  
  
Everything went black.  
Muffled voices sounded inside Lewis's head as his vision was clouded with a dark fog.   
Heneedshelp!  
Someonehelphim!  
Lewis!  
He tried to move but his limbs would not respond, not even the slightest quiver of his little finger. His body felt completely paralysed.  
'Lewiscomeback!'  
With this alerting his senses Lewis realised that his mind was awake and he could feel the breeze against the hairs on his cheek.  
'Lewis I know CPR it'll be ok just hold on' Alice's voice…wait a minute…  
Before Lewis knew the brunette girl leant over his body, pressing her chest against his, he felt the tingle as her soft lips touched his for the first time and gently she blew some air into him.   
Lewis tried to move as he knew that if Alice knew he had knowledge of this then she would rip him limb from limb…literally.  
Sitting up, Alice pressed down Lewis' stomach and Lewis knew he shouldn't…by god he knew he shouldn't…'shouldn't be craving the touch of a girl who'd kill you sooner than properly kiss you'   
His rational mind. It sounded fairly quiet.  
Once again, Alice leant down allowing her lips to press against his as she breathed into him, to Lewis it seemed to last an age he wanted to lift his hand up and run it down the slender killer's waist.   
Touch…  
His hand moved. Alice stopped immediately.  
'Unconscious…no you're not, your hand moved…paralysis then, I'll need to go and fetch some meta essence.'  
As Lewis heard the screams of a near-by ant getting disembowelled he inwardly sighed, contemplating what may have been one of the happier memories of his life that he would never experience again.  
--- --- ---  
  
They sat, weary, bodies and spirits dampned, a safe distance from the waters, both pretending that the earlier incident had never happened.   
"What happened back there Lewis?!"  
"I...um...can't swim..." Lewis muttered.  
He sighed.  
"I should've known better, the Vale is completely Snark infested."  
"Snarks? Those weird fish creatures?"  
"Vicious little scavangers. But weak. Shouldn't have been any problem..."  
"Well...we'll have to find another way across..."  
"Can we at least rest first?"  
"...If we must..."  
  
--- --- ---  
  
Alice was asleep now, Lewis keeping watch again, trying not to think about earlier.   
"You really should get some rest Lewis."  
Lewis looked around wildly, not noticing the Cheshire Cat until it was right in front of him.  
"You spend too much time like this. You're no use to Alice half asleep."  
"It doesn't much look like she needs my help at all cat. I'm supposed to be guiding her,...not the other way round..."  
"You misunderstand your place Lewis. You are a soldier, nothing more. Expendable. You are nothing."  
Lewis fired a shot at the cat, which disappeared. He screamed in pain as a claw appeared from nowhere and dug into his flesh. He fell back, clutching at his face, blood streaming through his fingers and down his hands.   
"Let that be a constant reminder of what you are."  
The cat vanished.  
  
Alice found Lewis in the shallows of the pool, firing wildly, the once clear waters thick with meta-essence. she watched as the water all but boiled, card after card exploding from his spear.  
"Lewis! What the hell are you doing?!"  
He paused, hearing her voice. The spear fell from his hand, landing in the pool with a splash, but he didn't seem to notice. He turned around slowly, his head down, hair obscuring his face.  
He looked up.  
Four identical red lines running along his face, narrowly missing his eyes.   
"What happened to you?" Alice glanced to the huge mass of meta-essence.  
he didn't reply.  
"I know my place cat. I will remember this." He whispered under his breath.  
  
They explored the nearby part of the shore for a while, searching for some sort of way to continue.  
"Nothing..."  
Lewis shook his head in frustartion, stabbing his retrieved spear into the ground a couple of times.  
"There's no wood to make a raft..." Alice shook her head.  
"No convenient giant leaves, nothing."  
"Lookin' fer a way across eh?"  
They both jumped, seeing a large pair of yellow eyes staring up at them from the water. It rose up, revealing itself to be a giant eel. The eel smiled, showing a row of jagged teeth.  
"I can help ye across....fer a price."  
Lewis eyed the eel suspiciously, Alice's face stayed carefully blank, betraying nothing.  
"What price?"  
The eel narrowed it's eyes at Lewis.  
"Well, you have been in the wars, ain't ye lad?"  
The eel sighed.  
"Well now. All I ask of ye is this. You return to me something that was stolen. The head of me brother."  
The eel could see their confusion.  
"The ants took his head, and it is on display in their fort. All I ask is that ye return it to it's rightful place."  
"You want us to go to a fort full of ants?!"  
"Aye, well...when I say 'fort'...It's more an outpost really."  
The eel grinned wickedly.  
"Be thankful. My only other request would be that one of ye were a meal to pay fer the ut'ers passage."  
Lewis saw Alice's hand instinctivly reach for her knife, and he grabbed it, whispering fiercely to her.  
"We need as many allies as we can get! Intimidation and needless violence makes us no better than the queen."  
Alice grimiced, but let her hand drop.  
"Very well." Alice stepped forwards, "We accept your terms, we will bring you the head of your brother in return for passage across the vale."  
  
Lewis and Alice set off for the ant's fort, having recieved directions from the eel.  
"Can we really trust that thing?" Lewis asked as they travelled.  
"Yes." Alice replied without hesitation.  
"How can you be sure?"  
"Because he told us he 'wanted' to eat us. He's honest."  
"Not the same as reliable..." Lewis muttered.  
"Maybe not."  
Lewis jumped, he hadn't expected Alice to hear him.   
"It's the best option we have at the moment."  
Lewis sighed, she was right.  
  
They had reached the ant's fort, and it lived up to it's name. A huge towering mass of grey earth and clay.  
"It's going to be right at the top isn't it?" Lewis said to Alice, resigned to their fate.  
"Yup."  
"Hordes of ants?"  
"Definitly."  
"Certain death?"  
"Most probably."  
"Bring it on."   
  
The first thing that greeted them as they walked through the door was the smell. Next came the floor. The colour of dried blood, drenched with it. Their eyes were led inexoriably upwards, to the mass of charred and twisted figures hanging from the celing, impaled upon wooden spikes. A mass of limbs, guts and gore. Lewis looked away. He didn't have the stomach for this, the smell of death hung heavy here. He reflected that he would probably grow accustomed to such sights, until it no longer caused him this feeling. It was a saddening thought.   
  
They pressed on, Lewis thankful that they had left that room.  
"It'd be too easy if the eel's head was amongst those bodies.." Alice muttered to herself, throwing her knife at an ant as it came round the corner. She yanked it out of the resulting corpse and slashed another as it too came round the corner, almost without looking.  
Lewis was too busy covering her back with fire from the spear to notice, thankful that they were making such quick progress, and that the design of the fort stopped the ants from massing into overwhelming numbers.  
  
They had scaled several floors, but even Alice was beginning to tire, try though she may to hide it.   
"You're as stubborn as any boy..." Lewis thought to himself, aware that he was just as bad.  
He knew he had to do his duty, the thought enforced by the claw marks across his face. Alice was tiring fast, he had to protect her.   
Summoning a reserve of strength from some hidden depth, Lewis sprung into life, cutting through the oncoming ants like a whirlwind. Alice seemed surprised, briefly, then she smiled. She grabbed a few meta-essence and re-joined the melee.  
"Little more than drones." Alice commented, cutting down a battalion of ants.  
"Such is the life of a soldier." The cat remarked, slowly weaving it's way through the dead bodies.   
Lewis glared at the cat, he knew that had been directed at him, what could have caused this hostility?  
"Don't let Meta-essence become a drug. You can't depend on it forever."  
The cat vanished again, leaving one last taunt as it faded from view,  
"Halfway there."  
  
[Several floors later.]  
  
Lewis staggered up the stairs to the next floor.  
"We...have to be...getting...close..." he gasped for breath. Under constant fighting conditions the meta-essence wasn't being given time to work properly, and he had several half-healed wounds, as did Alice, although she had sustained far fewer. Due in part to her natural skill, and partly due to Lewis' newly formed protective nature.   
Lewis looked around, this floor was empty.  
"What's going on? I don't see any ants..."  
"We can't have killed them all....there's......no way..."  
"Two children, wipe out a whole army? What do you think this is? Fantasy?"   
They looked up at the ant that had decended the stair case, bearing the makings of a commander.  
"You will go no further."   
  
The commander clapped it's hands twice and two ant lions dug their way out of the floor.  
Alice jumped over the first antlion, and continued heading straight for the commander,  
However, she was too focused on her target to see the other antlion burrow up behind her and prepare to bite off her leg. Lewis threw the spear, pinning the creature's head to the floor. To his growing horror it continued moving about, freeing itself and continued moving, the spear still embedded in it's head.  
He was forced to jump aside as the second of the two antlions burrowed up next to him, narrowly avoiding it's grasping jaws.   
Alice had reached the commander, and with a simple slash of her knife his head left his body.  
"My purpose...has been...served....you...will...die h...ere...."  
The commander's body collapsed, and Alice turned her attention to the pair of antlions that were closing in on Lewis.  
She drew the cards out of her pocket as Lewis jumped onto the back of one of the creatures, pulling his spear from it's head. The creature thrashed about for a moment or two as meta-essence streamed from it's body, then it disappeared underground, the other following it's lead.  
Lewis looked around warily, the antlions could appear from anywhere.  
Alice jumped as the ground beneath her exploded, firing a handful of cards towards the first antlion as it rose up from the ground. Most of the cards missed, a few hitting their mark and remaining lodged in the creature's skull.   
"Persistant aren't they?" Lewis fired a few cards at the other antlion, leaving thin cuts across the top of it's body.  
Alice nodded briefly, stabbing the knife into the face of one of them, right between the eyes.  
It kept on moving.  
"This is ridiculous..."  
Lewis, completely exhausted, had been reduced to supporting himself with the spear, and was backing away from the creatures slowly. Alice ran back to join him, knocking aside an attack from one of the antlions.  
"We might have to settle for just slowing them down."  
Alice threw the entire deck of cards at once. The antlions were flung backwards and left pinned to the wall by the cards.  
"Wait..."  
Lewis walked right up to one of the creatures. It struggled but couldn't move.  
"Right!"  
Lewis levelled his spear at the undefended insect and cut straight down it's exposed stomach. It screeched for a moment, then lay still, decomposing before their eyes.   
Alice walked up to the other and whipped out her knife, cutting off each of the antlion's limbs before finishing it off.   
"Shall we go?" She said sweetly, gathering up the cards.  
Lewis nodded, still slightly stunned by Alice's violence.


	7. VII Fixed Dice

Kite: Well you'll see soon enough....provided I update soon ;  
  
Kat23a: O.o um...thanks? I kinda' understood that ; And the cat is...um...jealous....;  
  
Jormundgand: Ah, thank you very much.  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Andy, for getting me the game! Yayayayayayay!  
  
--- --- ---  
  
Chapter 7: Fixed Dice  
  
"Niar of the heart guard?"  
  
Niar, sat polishing his spear, looked up at the visitor. Another heart guard.  
  
"You can't fool me Dice. Show yourself."  
  
The heart guard smiled and changed, it's plain red hood changing to a mass of coloured diamonds, the hood itself splitting into three parts like a jester's cap.  
  
The hearts on his chest and arms disappeared, leaving a joker emblazoned on his chest.  
  
"Why does the fabled harlequin grace me with his presence?" Niar asked with mock formality. He and Dice were old friends.  
  
"The one and only joker card guard my friend." Dice smiled again.  
  
"Orders from the Queen of Hearts Niar. She wants you to test Alice's skills, estimate how much of a threat she is."  
  
"And if she is a threat?"  
  
"If she is then my orders are to join you in battle to eliminate her."  
  
Niar nodded slowly.  
  
"She is a worthy adversary, but at this moment in time defeating her should not be a problem."  
  
"Well then." Dice made a complicated motion with his hand and a portal appeared, "No time like the present."  
  
--- --- ---  
  
Alice and Lewis endered the next, and last, floor of the ant's fort.  
  
"Look up." Alice said flatly.  
  
Lewis did as she said, there was the Eel's head, hanging from the ceiling.  
  
"Well, now all we need to do is grab the head and get out of here." Lewis took a step forwards.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that."  
  
Lewis jumped back as an ant landed in front of him, the queen ant.  
  
She was about four or five times the size of the ants they had previously fought, and had a huge pair of glistning, silvery wings on her back.  
  
"Out of my way!" Alice rushed at the queen and slashed at it with her knife. She left a long gash in the queen's body, and green meta-essence seeped out of it for a moment, before the wound healed in front of their eyes.  
  
The queen began hovering and darted towards alice, grabbing her with it's six pairs of legs.  
  
Alice found herself face to face with the queen, who lowered her head so that her pincer like jaws were around Alice's neck.  
  
"You have murdered my children! You will not leave here alive!"  
  
The queen stopped, shrieking in pain as she felt a card thuding into her back. Alice broke free while she was distracted, running out of the way.  
  
"Very well. If you want a fight, that's what you'll get."  
  
The queen held out one hand and a sceptre appeared in it.  
  
"I will not let your crimes remain unpunished."  
  
The queen rose into the air again, the scepter in hand. She pointed it at Alice and a flame burst from the end of it.  
  
Alice jumped aside just in time, looking back at the scorched floor.  
  
She got back up and ran closer to the queen, hoping to get close enough to throw the knife. As she ran she crossed the blackened floor, which cracked underneath her feet. She carried on running but yelled to Lewis.  
  
"That burned patch it weak. Try to avoid walking on it!"  
  
He nodded, before firing a few cards up at the queen, she dodged them easily.  
  
"You'll never hit me while I'm flying little one."  
  
"We'll just have to clip your wings then!" Alice threw a handful of cards at the queen, but she dodged every one.  
  
"You can't stay up there forever! You'll get tired and have to come down sooner or later!" Alice put the cards away and pulled out the knife, running the tongue along the blade.  
  
"Maybe so Alice, but will you have anything left to stand on by then?" The queen swung the sceptre again, flames springing up all around the room.  
  
"No...not...fire.." Alice shook her head, shivering even though the room had become a furnace. Lewis had reacted in a similar way, and was stuck huddled against a corner surrounded by a sea of flames.  
  
Alice glared at the queen, her eyes reflecting the light of the fire.  
  
"I wont die like this!! Not now! Not ever!!"  
  
She drew a die from her dress and swung it around in her hand for a moment.  
  
"Roll the demon dice and heads will roll." The cat's voice was nearby.  
  
"Off with her head!" Alice threw the dice, it rolled along the floor for a moment, it was stopping. Six dots.  
  
Six balls of light burst out of the dice, a door to the demon world flickered, a tear between two realities, both as demented as the other.  
  
Alice watched, smiling as a demon appeared, cackling madly.  
  
"What?!" The queen stared at the creature in surprise.  
  
"Is this some kind of joke?"  
  
Her eyes widened in horror as the demon flung out it's hands and bolts of lighting began to rain down on them, smashing holes in the fragile floor, each bolt getting closer to the queen. She shrieked as pure electricity burnt a hole through her body, dropping to the floor into a fire of her own creation. The demon looked around for a moment, then spotted Alice and Lewis. It turned and began advancing on them.  
  
"Unreliable little bastard..." Alice rolled aside as lightning crashed into the ground she's just been standing on. She grabbed Lewis and dragged him towards the doorway as the rest of the room collapsed behind them.  
  
"Sorry Alice...I just...froze..."  
  
Alice sighed.  
  
"It's okay...I can understand." That was all she said.  
  
"Ah!" She brightened up. The collapse of the top floor had taken part of the celing with it, and now they had reached the floor below, amongst the wreckage was the Eel's head, still undamaged.  
  
They climbed across the ruins of the room, when the top floor had collapsed the weight of the collapsing floor had caused the floor below to collapse in places too, and the damage probably went all the way down to the bottom of the fort. They picked up the head and navigated their way to the next doorway.  
  
"..S-sToP!"  
  
They turned, looking for the souce of the voice.  
  
A pile of rubble in the centre of the floor began moving, then suddenly burst apart to reveal the ant queen.  
  
Her body was charred and twisted in places, her wings ragged and a couple of legs missing, but she still rose up and fixed her gaze on them, her eyes now literally burning, flames filling their sockets.  
  
"FiRe CaN't DeStRoY mE! yOu'Re GoInG tO pAy FoR tHiS!"  
  
"Oh crap..." Alice turned to Lewis, "There's no way we can handle her like this, we should just made a run for it."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"C-cOmE bAcK!!!" The queen lurched forwards, taking to the skies again.  
  
Alice and Lewis ran back down the tower, jumping unexpected holes in the floor, the queen simply flying down each floor, shooting at them with the scepter as they went.  
  
The reached the ground floor and heard an omnious groaning sound.  
  
"The fort isn't going to take much more of this! It's going to collapse completely!"  
  
Alice's eyes widened, Lewis was right, the whole fort was visibly shaking.  
  
"ThIs WiLl Be YoUr GrAvE!!"  
  
The queen had caught up with them.  
  
"Come on!!" Lewis grabbed Alice by the hand and ran, swerving from side to side to avoid the flames streaming past them. They dived out of the doorway as the whole structure folded in on itself, falling apart behind them, a cloud of dust and a mound of charred clay all that remained.  
  
"That eel had better take us across now!!" Alice growled, she'd never had the chance to pick up her dice and several cards that were now buried beyond her reach.  
  
"Let's just get the hell out of here." Alice muttered.  
  
--- --- ---  
  
"Who's commanding the guards at the skool now that I've been transferred?"  
  
"I wasn't informed. Sorry."  
  
The two guards wandered the area, this was the closest Dice's portal could take them, they'd have to find Alice themselves from here.  
  
"Well. Let's follow the trail of death and destruction."  
  
--- --- ---  
  
"Ayyy?! Wat's this?! I can 'ardly believe me eyes! Ye two lil' ones brough me brother's head back to me? Ay'm in ye debt to be sure. 'Ang on tight and I'll 'ave ye across in no time."  
  
"Wait. What do we do with the head now we've got it for you?"  
  
"Just hold it up lad."  
  
Lewis did as he was asked, holding the Eel's head above his own. It became a mass of flowing light and darted into the water.  
  
"What...happened there?"  
  
"His head's been sent to me family's buriel ground y'see. Now he can rest in piece. I thank ye both from the bottom of me heart."  
  
"Can we go now?" Alice was getting impatient.  
  
"Of course miss. Hang on! Off we gooo!"  
  
The Eel surged forwards, cutting through the water with ease, too fast for the Snarks to even try to bite at him.  
  
They arrived at the shore, the Eel bid them goodbye and dived back into the water.  
  
"Alice? Alice, is that you?"  
  
Alice looked up at the creature greeting them, it took her a moment to recognise him without his shell, then realisation dawned.  
  
"Mock turtle?"  
  
The Mock turtle nodded sadly, tears rolling down his bovine face.  
  
"But...what happened to your shell?"  
  
"Oh Alice...it was horrible...I was just sitting here being no bother to anyone when..."  
  
"Alright, get to the point!" Alice paused as the mock turtle started crying again, then a little more kindly. "Where is your shell old friend?"  
  
"The D-Duchess' manor Alice."  
  
"well then, we'll just have to pay the Duchess a little visit. Won't we Lewis? Lewis?"  
  
He wasn't listning, instead staring across to the center of the pool, at the stone figure whose eyes flowed with neverending tears, Alice.  
  
"Come on Alice." The Mock Turtle's whine grated across Alice's nerves.  
  
A huge leaf drifted down onto the pool, the turtle jumped on and was carried away by the current.  
  
"We could have done with those earlier..." Alice watched another leaf fall.  
  
She grabbed Lewis and dragged him on.  
  
"Try not to fall off or you'll have to learn to swim very, VERY quickly."  
  
The leaf carried them down the narrow streams at high speed, twisting this way and that, dragged along by the current.  
  
Alice jumped as the leaf aproached a low root, Lewis ducking just in time to avoid being knocked off it.  
  
It carried them on further, they spotted a few snarks around, but they were travelling mnuch too fast to be troubled by the scavengers.  
  
"Alice....can you hear a sort of roaring sound ahead?"  
  
"Waterfall...." She replied irratably, "That fool...."  
  
There was no time to prepare, too late to try to jump, they simply fell, the leaf slipping away and sinking into the water, Alice and Lewis hitting the water. Hard.  
  
Lewis opened his eyes, he'd been washed up on the edge of the bank, luckily there didn't seem to be any Snarks around. He looked around, worried, until he spotted Alice sitting further along the bank.  
  
He stood weaily, picking up the spear miraculously beside him and went to join her.  
  
Another leaf drifted down in front of them.  
  
"Time to catch up..." She sighed and stood also.  
  
"Let's hope there are no more little surprises like that."  
  
--- ---- ---  
  
I really didn't know how to end this chapter...--; 


	8. VIII Tea of Two for One

Disclaimers: Same as always  
  
I dedicate this chapter toooo......the people at the Dark Wonderland RP forum, for keeping me distracted with such a great roleplay ;)  
  
Chapter 8: 1st Dismissal: Tea of two for one  
  
Alice helped Lewis off the leaf onto dry land again. Some vague feeling that this was being done the wrong way round crossed Lewis' mind, but mostly he was just very very glad to be back on the ground.  
Without waiting any longer Alice walked up to the rickety house they had arrived at, Lewis followed, glancing at the burning matchstick like wooden poles dotted around the place.  
  
The house itself was a run-down looking old manor, wooden walls rotted, the wood seeming to almost form faces. There was a huge keyhole occupying the right wing of the house, for reasons unknown, and on an upper floor what seemed like a broken monocle hanging from a chain. The whole building seemed to be built in the remains of an old tree trunk, although very little of it was left.  
  
The porch area was illuminated by what could only be a large firefly, nailed to the wall, dead, but it's light still shining.  
The light of the crucified insect revealed a frog sitting at the front of the house, standing guard as it were. The strange footman was dressed in a blue suit and had a wooden sword by his side.  
  
Alice walked up to the footman and casually toyed with the knife for a moment or two. No reaction.  
"Hey! Frog guy! What use is a guard when he can't even notice someone with a weapon right in front of him?!" She slapped the frog across the face.  
"...Ew, he's all slimy..."  
It slumped over and fell off the chair, it had obviously been dead for some time.  
"I wonder what killed it..." Lewis tapped the creature with his foot.  
  
"Ahem." Said a quiet voice, "That would have been me."  
They both span round, weapons ready.  
It appeared to be another footman, but this one was a fish, and was more richly clothed than the first, a red waistcoat decorated with a thorn like pattern similar to that on the back of the card guards.  
He also had a wooden sword by his side, and didn't hesitate to ready it.  
  
Alice darted forwards before Lewis or the footman had time to blink, burying her knife in the footman's stomach, blood quickly staining his expensive looking waistcoat.  
"I have no time for such nonsense." Alice said to the fast expiring creature, "I'm here to see the duchess."  
  
"Impossible! The duchess only sees those who don't wish to see her!"  
A lizard came into view, it's skin changing colour constantly.  
"And who are you?" Alice demanded.  
"Bill Mc Gill at your service Ma'am. Call me Larry, or not..."  
"Bill?...ah, Bill!" Alice seemed to remember the strange lizard from somewhere.  
Bill [Or perhaps, Larry.] seemed to be some sort of handyman, several tools hanging from a belt around his waist.  
"I must apologise for that incident with the chimney." Alice was saying to Bill.  
"All in the past now miss." He assured her, "Got any brandy?"  
"Afraid not, just my wits."  
"Wont get ya' far 'ere miss."  
"Alice, the shell." Lewis reminded her.  
"Oh, yes. We're here for the mock-turtle's shell." she said to Bill.  
"She wont part with it willingly miss." Bill told her.  
"Then she'll just have to do so UNwillingly."  
"Right ho ma'am. Your devoted servant am I. I owe her back for having me build this monstrosity anyways."  
  
Bill led them both to the door, or rather, a bunch of cards that seemed to act as a door. As they got closer he suddenly ran off screaming.  
"Now, why did he?-" Lewis never finished his sentence as the cards opened up and a strong wind pulled them inside the house.  
--- --- ---  
  
They both picked themselves up, looking back behind them at the spot where the door had been, now a solid stone wall.  
"Did he betray us?"  
"Maybe he hadn't forgiven me for that incident after all....," Alice sighed, "Well, we DID want to get inside, so I guess it doesn't matter."  
  
They made their way down some steps, more unfortunate fireflies illuminating the dreary tunnel.  
They reached the end of the tunnel, Alice silently noting the portcullis at the doorway as they stepped into a small room.  
"What...is this?" Lewis looked around in confusion.  
"I'd say it was some kind of kitchen." Alice replied.

The room was mostly empty, occupied only by a table, fireplace and shelves holding various condiments, kitchen utensils and the like on them.  
There was a portrait hanging on one wall of what seemed to be a pig smoking a cigar.  
Alice dimly remembered the Duchess' baby turning into a pig after she'd taken it with her, apparently it had chosen to stay with the duchess, even though the woman had regularly beaten the child for sneezing, which could scarcely have been avoided with the excessive amounts of pepper she liked on her food.

She'd no sooner thought pepper when Lewis sneezed himself. She span round, the knife pointed at his face.

"A-Alice!!"  
"...sorry. I'm just a bit jumpy, that's all."  
She bent down to check the floor, which seemed to have deep cracks running along it.  
"Uh...Alice?"  
"Yes?"  
"That rock...just...sprouted legs..."  
Alice stared at the offending rock in question, which was crawling off on stubby little legs.  
Alice merely raised one eyebrow, but ignored the rock.  
"Ah, there it is"  
Alice stood up and walked over to one of the shelves, the turtleshell resting on it.  
"Eels, turtles, I hope no-one else decides they want us to reclaim stolen items for them."  
Just as she reached out to grab the shell the room started shaking. She fell back as the walls started slowly moving apart, the room growing in size.  
"Well," She thought, "That explains the cracks in the floor."  
The grate of the fireplace suddenly flew across the room as, in a cloud of ash, pepper and embers, the duchess burst out of it.  
Alice was back on her feet in an instant.  
"Well now, my dear, it looks like you still need to put some meat on those bones." The duchess grunted.  
Alice wrinkled her nose in disgust. The duchess had never been pretty, but now the woman had become truly grotesque, even her pig of a son looked better than that!  
"And where might your disobedient son and cooking slave be duchess dear?" Alice shot back.  
The duchess grunted again.  
"We didn't have enough food, and hiding from the queen couldn't go out to get more. They both kindly offered to help feed me." The duchess smiled.  
"And the moral of that my dear child," She added, "Is to keep a bigger larder, or employ a bigger staff."  
"She...She ate them?!" Lewis seemed to get what the duchess was talking about.  
"And now it seems a nice snack has arrived."  
"I'm not edible."  
"I find anything becomes edible with enough pepper my dear." The duchess gave a false smile, a large pepper shaker in her hand.  
Lewis sneezed again.  
"We'll have the turtle shell now you disgusting ogre!"  
"Over my dead body!" The duchess sneered.  
"I'll try to accomodate you."  
  
Alice raised the knife to throw it but found a cloud of pepper heading her way, if hit her in the face, making her eyes water and making it hard to breathe. She threw the knife blindly, missing badly.  
"No-where near dear." The duchess mocked.  
Through her watering eyes Alice could just about see the duchess right in front of her, about to grab her.  
Then she was gone.

Alice wiped her eyes and looked around.  
Lewis was just lowering his spear, obviously he'd shot at the duchess when she'd just been about to get Alice. But where had she gone?  
"There!" Alice saw a blurred figure, a faint blue glow and the distortion of the air around it the only sign of who it was, the duchess.  
'She's fast for such a fat old-" Lewis didn't finish, the duchess stopping and appearing behind him, knocking him across the room with a swing of her pepper shaker.  
"Old?!" She shrieked, "How dare you!"  
"Don't forget fat!!" Alice yelled, firing a handful of cards at the Duchess.  
She disappeared again, running across the room at high speed.  
"How are we supposed to hit her?" Lewis choked, getting back to his feet.  
"By trying not to..." Alice started, "If we time it right she should run into our attacks."  
Lewis grabbed a meta-essence from the shelf he'd crashed into, and prepared to rejoin the battle.  
  
Alice was busy dodging the clouds of pepper the duchess was firing from her shaker. He fired at her back but she disappeared again.  
Alice followed the ghostly after-image of the duchess with her eyes.  
"There!!"  
Alice let at least 10 cards fly at the spot the duchess was running to.  
The woman reappeared just as they reached, leaving a mass of cuts in her rough woven grey dress, but doing little damage.  
"Alice...even if we hit her...it isn't doing enough."  
The duchess turned to look at Lewis, then pulled out a pig baby and tossed it at him.  
"Lewis!! Get out of the way!!!"  
"Huh? Oh..."  
The pig baby exploded, engulfing the spot Lewis had been standing in a fireball.  
As the smoke cleared both Alice and the duchess had paused in their fighting to see the outcome.  
Alice gave a cry of dismay upon seeing the crater the explosive baby had created.  
"Lewis!! No!!"  
A movement caught her eye. Again tossed across the room, lay Lewis. The force of the explosion must have thrown him aside, and he lay still on the floor, bleeding and burnt.  
The duchess strode forward to finish him off, but Alice threw her knife at the duchess' dress, pinning it to the floor.  
She turned and tried to pull it out but couldn't reach the handle, so started tugging on her dress.  
With little time to spare Alice grabbed meta-essences from some shelves and passed them to Lewis.  
He got back up, he still had a few burns, but it looked like he was going to be okay.  
"You little pest!! How am I supposed to have this dress fixed?! I already ate the tailor!!"  
The duchess had torn her dress getting herself free from the knife, which now simply returned to Alice's hand.  
They split up as the duchess fired another blast of pepper at them, Alice had barely taken more than a few steps when she tripped on something.  
"Ah!!? It's that walking rock!!" She swore under her breath and dived out of the way as another pig baby exploded behind her, setting the rock on fire but otherwise not harming the thing.  
"Hey! Old woman! Over here!"  
The duchess growled and turned to face Lewis.  
"Stop calling me that!!" She threw a pig baby at him.  
Lewis jumped over the table, grabbing a box sitting on it as he did so, then tipping the table on it's side as the pig exploded, using the table to shield the blast.  
He poked his head over the top of the table and shouted to Alice.  
"Hey Alice! Try his!"  
He threw the box over the Duchess' head, Alice caught it in her hands and blinked.  
"What?-"  
The box popped open to reveal a jester like figure, with, and this was important, a fuse poking out of the top of it's head."  
"Shite!" Alice fumbled the box and threw it to the Duchess.  
"The jackbomb?!" The duchess began to run as the jackbomb exploded in mid-air, in her face.  
The large woman was knocked backwards by the blast, and clutched at her burnt face.  
"When I deal with you two it will be the sweetest meal I've had in a long time!"  
"Why bother?! You could do with a diet!!" Alice retorted.  
The Duchess screamed in anger and threw pig babies, the room full of explosions.  
"It seems you need a little cooking first!!"  
"Alice! Behind here!" Alice jumped over the upturned table with Lewis.  
They could feel the heat of the explosions around them, and the table wasn't going to last much longer.  
"That thing seemed effective..." Lewis sighed.

"Yes but we only had the one-" Alice looked at the blue light gathering at her hand, forming into the jackbomb.  
"I could grow to like this weapon..." Alice smiled.  
  
Alice leapt over the table, skidding the jackbomb along the floor so that it stopped close to the Duchess' feet, who, still in a rage, hadn't noticed.  
The Duchess heard the music of the box playing though, and looked down as the jester head popped out and began spurting flames.  
"Ah-Ah-Achoo!"  
The Duchess sneezed, and again, harder this time. Then she sneezed one final time, her head exploding in a shower of blood and pepper.  
"And the moral of that," Alice said triumphantly, "Is not to mess with me."  
  
"Is it...over?"  
Lewis felt sick, he'd never fought against a proper human before.  
Alice stared down at the empty remains of the Duchess' head.  
"If she can keep going after that I very much doubt we would be able to win."  
Alice walked back to the turtle shell and tucked it under her arm, then waved an admonishing finger at the walking rock.  
"If you trip me up again I'll grind you into dust. Understand?"  
The little rock squeaked and ran off as fast as its stubby legs could carry it


End file.
